Cinnamon Babka Ring with Rum-Mascarpone Glaze

December 19, 2016 by carey 6 Comments

I’m writing this post from my friend Maggie‘s home in Chattanooga, listening to Christmas music while she makes thumbprint cookies. I arrived here Friday afternoon, and have been having a great time seeing the city and meeting new folks, snuggling with her pets, and doing lots of relaxing in her home chatting, baking, and just generally being introverts. Tomorrow I head out to meet the boyfriend in Vegas (sounds wild but we’re actually going to meet up with some of his family members that live there), and then I head back to Vermont on the 23rd, get in to Burlington at 11:00pm, and leave for my parents’ place in upstate NY early the next morning. Clearly I’m a little bit of a travel masochist. Fingers crossed for good weather and on-time flights!

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Sweet Potato Meringue Pie with Salted Pecan Crème Fraîche + a dessert shoot with Betty Liu!

November 16, 2016 by carey 10 Comments

Facts I have learned in the past week:
— Marshmallow meringue is way too delicious and easy to make.
— Crème brûlée torches are FUN.
— Burnt miso butterscotch is a gift from the gods.
— Co-dessert shoots are the best!

A couple weeks back, Betty and I were chatting about our upcoming Vermont Creamery recipes, when it dawned on us that “ummm, actually wouldn’t it be amazing if we did a dessert shoot together??!” So I whipped up my pie crust and filling on Saturday, along with some salted pecan crème fraîche and the burnt miso butterscotch from Power Vegetables! (YUM). I left Burlington early Sunday morning, arrived at my Boston airbnb, and then ubered over to Betty’s place with an absurd amount of things in tow (camera, pie, bag full of meringue ingredients + props and linens). I quickly inhaled a delicious honeynut squash + burrata lunch she’d made for me, then whipped up the meringue topping for my pie so we could get all of our shots in before the 4:30 sunset. We did it, had a blast, and then “sampled” our work (while trying to keep in mind that we were eating dinner in two hours). It was the best.

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Croatia Photography & Styling Workshop

May 13, 2016 by carey 4 Comments

Hey friends! I know things have been rather quiet around here lately, as I try to find balance in my hectic-but-fun freelance life. I actually have some changes in the works that will (hopefully!) be coming soon, and inspire me to be more present in the blog world. But I’m back here right now because I want to share our amazing experience at our Croatia workshop last fall, aaand announce our return to this beautiful country in October!

Early last year, Eva and I were tossing around location ideas for a fall workshop, and Croatia made it onto the list of possibilities. I knew nothing about this country. It seemed intriguing but foreign, and if the decision had been mine to make in the moment, I probably would have chosen Greece or somewhere that felt a little more familiar. But during a conversation with a chef friend of mine, I happened to rattle off a few of the countries we were considering visiting. Without hesitation, he said, “dude, definitely go to Croatia.” He went on to talk about the amazing forests and foraging there, and I was pretty much sold. I excitedly relayed all this to Eva, and it was decided: Croatia here we come.

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Five Bites & Cocktails: A Holiday Collaboration with Vermont Creamery & Stonecutter Spirits

December 5, 2015 by carey 6 Comments

Oh hey, December. Wow. I’ll save my 2015 reminiscing for another time, but I will just say that this year has been a whirlwind of new places, new people, and new opportunities. I’ve had a couple months break from traveling, which has given me time to work on a few projects with folks closer to home. And this collaboration with Vermont Creamery and Stonecutter Spirits is by far my favorite!

I began talking with FM from Vermont Creamery about this project a few months ago, and was pretty excited about it from the start. The idea was to create five different “bites” using Vermont Creamery cheeses, while Sas from Stonecutter Spirits and Jeff from Oak45 crafted cocktails to pair with them. And then we’d take a day to photograph the bites and cocktails, along with holiday tablescapes filled with delicious foods and desserts, in Oak45’s beautiful space. Cheese, booze, partnering with awesome Vermont businesses, and getting to stand on tables all day in a gorgeous space with perfect light? Yup, basically my dream project.

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Crème Fraîche Mashed Potatoes

November 23, 2015 by carey 18 Comments

I’ve been hosting Thanksgiving for the past six years. It started out small, with just my brother, our friend, and me. Several years ago my parents started joining us. Then they invited a friend, and a couple more friends, and more of my friends started coming too. This year, there will be twelve of us, which is the most people I’ve ever squeezed into my little apartment for feasting purposes. It’s the largest group I’ve ever hosted by far, so I’m slightly nervous, but I think I’ve got enough experience at this point to bring my A-game. And one thing that I felt like I finally perfected last year was the mashed potatoes. My mom agreed, stating that they were the best she’d ever had. She asked me for the recipe a couple times, and all I could tell her was “uhhhh it’s potatoes plus lots of butter and crème fraîche, some buttermilk, and then salt, pepper, and garlic powder until it tastes good.” This year, I decided to actually figure it out.

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